Star Wars Rebels, The Inquisitor's story
by Shien the Sea Doggo
Summary: A what if scenario based on The Grand Inquisitor of Star Wars Rebels. I often wondered what would happen if he had won against Kanan and Ezra on Lothal.
1. Chapter 1

Chapter 1

" _You were right. I was a coward. But now I know that there's something stronger than fear. Far stronger. The force."_

 _Fear. That was the first time he ever felt it from anyone other than his master. The signs were the same, his blood turned cold, breath catching deep in his lungs. But The Inquisitor realized something quickly; this jedi wasn't enough to sway him from the fear he already had, fear of those higher than him. This jedi was nothing compared to the Sith lord who trained him. Like the jedi order foretold, fear turned to anger as he gripped his lightsaber with both hands like the weapon itself was his life. With the flick of a switch, the blades spun around the handle in a motion remarkably similar to a helicopter. Seeing the red blades form a literal shield between him and this… Jedi… It gave the Inquisitor strength, comfort. He knew that this Kanan couldn't pierce through lightsaber blades, not even with the force. He bared his teeth in a grin. But all that was dashed away when Kanan spoke his next words._

" _Let me show you how strong it is." And without warning, the Inquisitor found that this lightsaber his master had given him did have a weakness, a rather grievous one at that. Kanan asserted his grip on his two lightsabers, and then thrust them in between the handguards of his copter saber. Kanan Bypassed both the Inquisitor's hands, and the blade, and his red eyes widened in fear as Kanan violently struck. One lightsaber flew upwards, the other came crashing down, slicing the Inquisitor's lightsaber in two, the blades falling behind him._

 _The force Kanan used to slice his lightsaber caused not only the blades to fall, but for the Inquisitor to lose his footing. He spun on one heel, and barely managed to catch himself on the bridge he just a few moments ago had stood so confidently upon. First, he looked down at his falling lightsaber blades, still activated, as they fell towards… His eyes widened. They were falling for a fueling duct, used to power the station. The very moment those red blades hit the structure was the moment the fuel exploded, shaking the bridge Kanan stood on, shuddering the entire base to its core._

 _And it was then that the Inquisitor looked back up at Kanan, lips curled into a snarl. He should have felt the despair, the crippling fear that had seized him so many times before. Because he knew that he had failed, that his master would punish him for failing, that he would do things that pushed beyond the horrific, beyond the realm that any physical being could withstand._

 _And it was all. Kanan's. Fault._

 _The Inquisitor stopped… Feeling. It was as if the fear was gone, it was as if the worry of disappointing HIM was gone, it was as if his very fear of death was gone. All that was left was Kanan. All Kanan._

 _His was the cry of rage as suddenly, strength flowed through his arms like a flood, and through their strength alone, he rocketed a dozen feet above Kanan's head, landing by a circle of terminals, eyes narrowed._

" _Why can't you just DIE?" He roared, throwing all the power of his arms, all that newfound strength, and it surged from him as if finally allowed a place to escape. Kanan felt like a starship had hit him as he flew off his feet, lightsabers leaving his hands, falling in a heap many feet away. Kanan slowly recognized the graying of his vision as a concussion, and he drearily tried to stand._

 _The Grand Inquisitor's eyes narrowed as he stared at each lightsaber. He lifted his long fingers, and deftly called one of them, the small silver handle leaping to his command, flying into his grip. His face was illuminated by a light blue glow amongst the fire, but it didn't stay there for long. Just like he would do with his copter saber, The Inquisitor threw Kanan's blade at him, as hard as he possibly could. It flew as fast as a blaster bolt. Kanan didn't have a chance. His body limply fell to the floor, and the Inquisitor gave a wicked grin, before calling Kanan's blade back._

" _I'm keeping you..." He mumbled, but then looked up as he felt a wash of guilt and despair. Surprise made the Inquisitor's eyes widen as the padawan he thought he had killed stood there, eyes wide, mouth hanging open, a pure, humorous expression of shock. The Inquisitor, getting_ really _sick of these guys, simply sent the blue-haired padawan flying with a careless push of the force. Then, he grabbed the padawan's lightsaber as well._

I'd best hide these… I certainly earned the right to keep them… _He thought to himself, before looking around, anger subsiding. He very quickly realized that it was time to leave, and fled from the room._

The Grand Inquisitor, his white skinned burned, bruised, and pockmarked from the pitched battle kept replaying the events in his head as he stiffly and mechanically disassembled both lightsabers. He found himself unable to focus on his task while being thusly preoccupied, so he forced the images from his head. Truthfully, be had no idea what he was doing. Inquisitor's weren't allowed to keep lightsabers from the jedi they hunted, nor were they allowed to make their own. They were given those copter sabers from the time of their training to the point of their death. The design of these weapons, even of his own weapon, eluded him. But he didn't care. That jedi… That kriffing jedi… His lip curled again, and his fingers gripped upon a particularly sharp piece of metal, drawing a dark red colored blood from his fingers. Even through his gloves. He was so far away from caring about the rules right now. Those two jedi officially ruined his life the moment they refused to die. It was a long con, letting him believe that he held the upper hand, yet always eluding his grasp.

They crushed whatever courage he might have had when they destroyed his lightsaber.

 _Kanan…_ He needed those lightsabers… They _owed_ him. So, he worked tirelessly. He was waiting for a transport to come and grab him… He was the only Imperial who survived the explosion.

But he didn't care. He just needed to hide these weapons. He shook his head as he finally managed to disassemble them, then stored the lightsaber components in secret slots of his armor, designed for smuggling important parts should the need arise. He slipped the crystals, unknowing of how tough they were, in a very cushioned part of his armor, right where his neck was protected. He finished just in time as the rustling of the desert around him alerted him of the presence of the transport above him. He stood, grunting in pain, eyes downcast as the Lambda class shuttle opened its loading ramp, and the Pau'un shuffled up the steps.

"Welcome back Inquisitor. We're good to see you're alive." Said the co-pilot, having left his post to greet the high ranking officer. The Inquisitor never even looked up at him as he sat down as far away as possible. The co-pilot took the hint and cleared his throat awkwardly before adjourning to the cockpit, and starting the ship once again. The Inquisitor felt the familiar heave of a several ton ship defying gravity, before shooting off into the atmosphere.

" _Standby for lightspeed._ " And the Inquisitor's heart sank into his stomach as the ship lurched into hyperspace. He knew where they were going; it was Imperial protocol. After every failed mission, the pilots are required under the threat of treason to report the Inquisitor to his master…

The Inquisitor would have to explain his failings to Darth Vader. Force help him…

* * *

Every step was harder than the last. His boots clacked against the metal of the cold floors of the _Executor_ , Darth Vader's personal Star Destroyer. He wanted to take the long way. But he daren't make his master wait.

He swallowed as he found an elevator, and the lift flew straight to Darth Vader's quarters, a massive room with a view of space. His meditation chamber sat in the middle, and it gave the Grand Inquisitor the chills every time he saw it. His heart sank even further, down to his wobbly knees as the lift dinged, and the door opened. The Inquisitor shuffled to the black spherical chamber, and kneeled before it, suppressing a groan as his tired body protested.

He bowed his head, and his whole body stiffened as the chamber opened, and Darth Vader himself came into view.

The Inquisitor was struck first by the cold he felt through the force, and the assault on his ears once the harsh, mechanical breathing from his master assaulted his ears. He swallowed.

"You have returned from your mission." Came his deep, brassy voice. The Inquisitor kept his head down, not having been asked to speak.

"Speak, Inquisitor. Report to me about your mission." The Inquisitor nodded, and, after forcing the tremble from his voice, began reiterating the tale. He told of how the jedi destroyed the facility with the Inquisitor's own lightsaber. He told of how he felt an intense anger, and used it to kill the jedi known as Kanan, as well as his padawan. He ended the story with a lie, about how he supposedly dropped the lightsabers into the exploding fuel conduit, and fled to Vader immediately. Darth Vader's subsequent silence was agony, to the point where he almost leapt up and demanded the Sith to speak. Finally, Vader stood. With his armor, he actually matched the Inquisitor in height, a fact that the Pau'an always respected. But now it only brought him fear. That fear was replaced with resignation the moment he felt a cold grip around his throat.

"You allowed the institution to be destroyed, lost your lightsaber, and were nearly defeated by a fledgeling jedi and his padawan. And you _dare_ return to me?" The lord demanded, lifting the Inquisitor off the ground, crushing his throat with only a somewhat powerful grip. Vader didn't even need to use much power against an Inquisitor… But truly… What had the dark lord suspected? Darth Vader truly had no intention of killing the Inquisitor. Truly, his mission was more of a success than Vader thought it would be, and as he felt the Pau'an suffocating, he realized once again that, despite being the highest ranked Inquisitor in the Empire… That's still all he was. An Inquisitor. And he was still useful… For now.

But he must still be punished.

The Inquisitor felt the grip on his throat lessen, and he fell to the ground. Immediately came his attempts to suck in as much oxygen as he could, his aching lungs filling as he massaged his bruised neck… But the Inquisitor didn't bother moving. He knew that Vader wasn't done yet.

Somehow, Darth Vader had known the Inquisitor had failed beforehand, because the next thing the Pau'an knew, the door opened, and his eyes widened to see not one probe droid, but three.

He swallowed, his bruised throat stinging as the door shut, sealing his fate.

* * *

Hi people who read this. What'd you think? Feel free to rip this story a new one, because I personally don't like Star Wars Rebels, but I did enjoy the Inquisitor, as I see him as some kind of Underdog. I wanted to see what would happen when he was pushed far enough. So, get ready.

BTW, you guys probably know this, but I don't own Star Wars, nor the characters in this story. I'm just using them for a cool Alternate universe Idea I had.


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2

It was in the Mid-Rim that the Passenger liner slipped out of hyperspace, the familiar sudden appearance among the stars seen plain and clear. When they exited the lightspeed tunnel, passengers groaned; after having gone so fast for so long, any sort of normal speed felt like they were flying backwards.

The ship itself was actually fairly small compared to other vessels of it's line, only able to take on a maximum of 500 passengers, including crew. Barely half that number sat in the passenger seats, located in the aft section of the ship, near the engines. They didn't want the passengers getting cold, right?

The ship lacked any real comforts for the passengers, packed as tightly as sardines were they. Although it made quite a bit of sense. These people were all criminals for some reason or another. As far as the Empire was concerned, sneezing on Empire Day could get someone shot. And they would never be able to afford any ship that wouldn't turn them away.

Four compartments were sparingly filled, each holding about 20 people. Everyone was scared, everyone was tired, and everyone had a chip on their shoulder. Except two individuals, in the North-Eastern compartment.

One was scared, horrified in fact, but she kept it concealed as she held a baby in her arms, gently shushing its fussing. The latter, sitting next to the former, was the picture of calm, at least from what could be inferred with her face under a hood.

Towards the front of the ship hosted several astromech droids, nestled in tight in a room next to the cockpit, where the two pilots sang along to a folk song. They were brothers, and hated each other's guts. At least, that's what they told others.

The older brother stood taller, with the beginnings of a chrome dome, and a rather impressive beard turning his chin into a forest, while the younger was shorter and more muscular, like he was the enforcer of the two.

Between them both, they had a rap sheet 30 miles long, and that was only because the two kept trying to hack the Empire's databases to delete their crimes. Excluding those crimes, their rap sheet was only 18 miles long.

The Empire labeled them as despicable criminals who harbor fugitives, which was true. They certainly felt comfortable hanging with the lowest of the low, but they did so to give them safe passage, to give them new faces, and new lives.

These two brothers were personally responsible for the Empire losing 5% of their entire wanted list.

A screen in the cockpit suddenly started blinking.

"Whoa." Said the older brother, sporting a beard that his younger brother couldn't manage to grow. The younger brother looked over.

"What is it, pirates?" He asked.

"No, worse, we got a Star Destroyer behind us... Kriff… Alright, get ready to be boarded, and make sure everyone has the ID cards we gave them, now." the older brother ordered, causing his little bro to scramble from his seat, and run back to the passenger compartments.

The older brother took several deep breaths as his fingers gripped the steering console so harshly his knuckles were starting to turn white. His heart raced until he stared as hard as he could at the very stars of the galaxy. He grit his teeth, narrowed his eyes like he was facing an opponent, and then suddenly slapped his own face as harshly as he could without leaving a bruise.

He looked back at the scope as a completely different person, calm and collected. With one last breath, he switched off the engines, and flipped on the coms channel.

"Upcoming Star Destroyer, this is the Passenger liner _Utopia_ hailing you, please identify yourself." And then he waited, and waited, and waited.

He knew the tactic, keep from talking to make people nervous. It wouldn't work.

"Passenger liner _Utopia_ , this is the _Grievance_ , we have reason to believe that your vessel is harboring known fugitives. Keep your engines stalled and prepare to be boarded." The older brother took a deep breath, as things were ending up a lot worse than he had hoped. Finally, he spoke again.

"Yes sir, no problem. Engines stopped, and I promise we have no nasty surprises here for you." He assured, his voice dripping with a casual drip. His only job now was to put the Star Destroyer at ease. People's lives depended on it. It occurred to him that this line of work might be the main reason as to why he kept a stress ball within arm's reach.

When the Star Destroyer's underbelly opened up to literally swallow them, it also occurred to him that this job was why he found several gray hairs this morning.

He heard the telltale deafening metallic latch of the Destroyer hooking onto his poor ship like a predator. He looked to his right, where just behind the door, hidden behind the durasteel wall, stood a projectile rifle.

 _Only if there's no other choice…_ Was his only thought as the boarding ramp door beeped, alerting the crew that there was someone who wished to enter the ship.

"Well… Best not keep our guests waiting." He mumbled, and stood from his seat.

He walked the short distance from the cockpit to the docking door, and, after putting on a big smile, hit the switch to open the blast door.

His smile vanished when he saw that no Stormtroopers stood in front of him. In fact, he looked up to see a tall pau'an male, distinctive in his lack of hair and bizzare bodily markings, resembling horizontal lines running down his face. It looked like this stranger was bleeding from disfiguring knife wounds.

And judging by the actual face scars, this alien might have actually been in a knife fight recently. It looked like someone went to town on him with a scalpel. Oddly enough, the scars on his face didn't have the same red hue as his natural red line skin pattern. It almost looked unnerving.

Yellow eyes met with blue eyes.

"Where are the passengers?" He asked, his voice dripping with Imperial class. The Older brother immediately cleared his throat, his game face securely fit on his head.

"Over here, sir. Straight down the hallway, and you'll reach the four doors. I've told the passengers to ready ID cards for you." He explained, smiling at the taller alien, truthfully unsure of what he was.

"That won't be necessary." Was all the Imperial said, before the older brother would suddenly lose his breath, and be lifted into the air.

"We don't plan on leaving anyone alive, anyway." The alien told the poor, choking the man as he kicked and thrashed.

But the alien's fun was quickly cut short, as a door suddenly opened in front of him, and before he knew it, he was tackled at the waist by the younger brother. The Grand Inquisitor grunted as his back slammed against the wall. The ringing of metal made his sensitive ears hurt as combat training kicked in. Immediately, he lifted his right arm and slammed it back down, elbow first, on his attacker's collar bone. Somehow, it broke with one strike, audible to the Inquisitor's ears, making him grin as he heard the cry of pain. The Inquisitor's left hand lifted the poor brother to face him, before that devastating right arm cocked back, hand balling into a fist, and slammed against his opponent's face.

There was a deafening clang as, when the punch connected, metal hit bone. The younger brother slumped to the ground as the Inquisitor's same ears caught the cocking of a rifle not 2 seconds after the first fight was over.

The Grand Inquisitor activated his lightsaber as the older brother, having recovered somewhat, fired his rifle, the slug sailing towards the Pau'an, only to be blocked by the crimson blade.

The Older brother never got another shot off…

The Grand Inquisitor retracted his red blade, eyes impassive. He gave a sigh as he walked towards the passenger compartments, re-adjusting the grip on his lightsaber. Giving yet another sigh, he switched his grip again before coming to the first two doors; one on his left, the other on his right. He could feel the fear, the anger, the true despair and desperation behind both of them… But that wasn't what he was looking for.

He moved on to the last two doors. He turned his attention to one door, and stretched out with the force again.

The results were disappointing, over a dozen people so concerned that he was after them, so certain that the galaxy revolved around them. His lip curled as he turned to the last door, stretching out the force yet again, as if he were flexing a muscle. This time, he smiled.

With a wave of his hand, the door whooshed open, and every single person put their head down, horrified of making eye contact with this person.

They thought that he was horrifying.

 _They have no idea what horrifying is…_ He thought to himself, growing irritated within the confines of his own mind.

Finally though, after searching through all 20 of the passengers, he found a woman holding a baby. He allowed himself a small grin as he felt the child through the force… It had power, quite a lot of it actually.

There was no doubt. This baby was force-sensitive.

With that part of the job done, The Inquisitor ignited his lightsaber yet again.

"No witnesses." He growled, but as the second blade ignited, The Inquisitor heard a noise he didn't think he would hear, another lightsaber igniting. He spun on his heel to find a treat waiting for him.

The woman shrouded in a cloak, the one next to the mother and the baby, was a jedi. His face gnarled into a grin.

"Well, I was hoping that this would be fun." He told the jedi, before the ring of his lightsaber opened up with a metallic clang, ready to go to turbine mode.

The Inquisitor wore his usual battle mask; a cocky grin, one of evil intent and positive superiority. He knew he was better than everyone. Or at least, that's what he lead people to believe.

That look melted away when the jedi removed her hood.

he felt a familiar twinge of fear, one he hadn't felt for at least a month, since Lothal. He swallowed, red eyes wide as he stared into the calm pools nestled into the skull of Depa Billaba, the former master of Kanan Jarrus.

* * *

He had studied the records, scrutinized every detail of the Clone Wars. Nearly all of his downtime was spent studying. He breathed the Clone Wars, remembering every jedi and padawan. It was his job. Most of his targets were survivors of the Clone Wars, after all, and more often than not, where they were and their actions during the war gave the Inquisitor a clue as to where they were.

But now, as the Inquisitor met yet another jedi that he was certain had died, he felt a creeping doubt.

His stalwart fortitude fell like dominos as doubt made him think of Kanan again, the one jedi who bested him… This person was his master. What chance did he have?

The Inquisitor nervously adjusted his grip. Then he did it again. Then once more.

And Depa had yet to make a single move.

The Inquisitor heard Depa Billaba speak, and he almost flinched.

"I give you one chance, Inquisitor. Retreat, or I will be forced to kill you." She informed him, before raising her lightsaber over her head in a classic lightsaber stance, ready to strike downward at a moment's notice.

The Inquisitor's keen mind, however dulled by fear, recognized her use of Djem So, a form that he was remarkably familiar with. He himself couldn't perform it because of the physical requirements of the form, it required tremendous strength and stamina, but he knew how to defend against it.

And all at once, his mind came back to him, and he asserted a stance, long legs spread out wide as he extinguished one blade from his saber. He couldn't rely on his usual elegant fencing style of makashi, nor could he match her in strength.

So, his only option was to match her in speed and acrobatics. He took a moment to survey the small compartment they were in. 20 people exactly, capable of seating them comfortably. ceilings standing at about 10 feet high, the closest wall only 5 feet away… Cramped for what he had in mind, but enough. He swallowed, mirroring the actions of a certain older brother from just a little bit ago.

He moved in a flash, suddenly leaping straight to his left, and pressing his foot against the close wall. He used what strength he had in his long, athletic legs to push off, spinning to add momentum to his first lightsaber strike in a month. He struck horizontally, aiming to take her head off in one blow.

His face twisted into a growl as he put all of his focus into the fight. The jedi master calmly adjusted her stance, one foot sliding on the steel, her body moving to face him as she moved her lightsaber. As fast as he could be, Billaba was much faster. She swatted his attack to the side, before replying with a lightning fast counter attack.

The Inquisitor gasped as their blades connected yet again, his block also cut to the side as easily as his first attack. She was stronger and faster by miles, and it only took her two moves to dominate the fight. He immediately backpedaled to the door, eyes wide, face etched in pure concern as she pressed the attack, as was the general teaching behind Djem so.

The Inquisitor knew this, but could do nothing as he barely defended against each strike.

He felt despair as he realized that, in all honesty, she was probably more well versed in the dark side than he was.

He growled in frustration, before suddenly replying with the only possible tactic he had left. Surprise. As she forced him out the door, and to the hall that lead from the passenger area, he ignited his second blade, and before Billaba could strike again, The Inquisitor met her charge with a spinning blade. The lightsaber had a glaring weakness, that being a lightsaber can cut through the massive handle.

However, it also had a surprising usage, being the spinning blades. The motor within the Inquisitor's lightsaber was strong enough to spin his blades at 20 miles an hour at it's highest setting. Getting hit by that was like getting hit by Darth Vader.

the Inquisitor grinned as now, each strike Depa gave him was matched in strength.

For a brief and furious exchange, they were met evenly, The Inquisitor's newfound strength and unpredictability matched with Billaba's speed, skill, and strength in the force.

But this was not a jedi that he was facing. This was a jedi _master_. Worse yet, this was a jedi master trained by Mace Windu.

Her attacks suddenly sped up beyond the realm of sight, appearing to the Inquisitor as literally an all encompassing green field. It filled his whole vision, casting everything else out. This was not Djem So, but something far more dangerous for him. He didn't recognize the style at all. Hell, he couldn't even see it to recognize it.

He managed to catch one glimpse of Depa Billaba's face during this barrage, and he felt a shot of cold horror slow him down.

Her face was twisted into a snarl of anger and concentration, but her eyes betrayed her nature. The master was enjoying this.

Before he knew what was happening, he was in front of the door he had previously arrived in.

 _When did that happen?!_ Came his panicked thoughts as suddenly, her heavy booted foot cracked against his chest, and his feet left the metal floor as she literally kicked him off of her ship.

The Inquisitor opened his eyes to see the roof of a Star Destroyer hangar, and he had to fight to stay un-amazed. Instead, he grew angry.

She… She spared him. She easily repelled him, and didn't even consider him enough of a threat to kill. His lip twisted, but then he screamed, truly screamed as metal in the hanger screeched. His hands clapped to his ears, and he hit his knees as he, through teary eyes, saw the locks on the Passenger Liner being forcibly dislodged.

 _What's going ON?!_ He couldn't even hear the thought as suddenly, the Passenger Liner was dropped, and the engines coughed to life. His eyes were about the size of dinner plates as he realized that the jedi Master had wrenched her ship free purely with the force. He removed his hands from his ears to find a small amount of blood on his gloves.

His ears wouldn't stop ringing. He looked around, disoriented, before grabbing a Stormtrooper, and forcibly entering his mind.

He didn't bother asking for a status report, knowing certainly that he wouldn't be able to hear it.

He caught images and feelings as he learned that, once the Vessel had exited from his Star Destroyer, it had activated its hyperdrive and fled. She had escaped him, as had the child.

He swallowed, realizing that he had failed, yet again…

He flexed his right hand, and the distinctive sound of gears moving filtered into his damaged ears, a testimony of Vader's unwillingness to accept failure. Now, he was going to lose his leg.

His hand clenched into a fist so fast and so harshly that he actually damaged the prosthetic.

 _Not again… Not again._ He let go of the Stormtrooper, and made the shorter soldier face him.

"Get to the bridge, call the Seventh Sister's star Destroyer. You are to inform her that she is to meet me at coordinates that will be given shortly." He growled.

"Yessir!" The trooper replied and ran straight for the Bridge, as the Inquisitor growled.

"I'm going to tear you in half, you jedi filth." The Inquisitor snarled, his usual posh accent fading slightly with his anger. Then, he turned on his heel and sprinted for his personal hanger, calling his lightsaber to his hand, and slapping it onto his back. It felt heavy on his back as he hit the button, and a door opened to reveal his personal TIE fighter. He jumped in, popped the lid, and climbed inside. He started the fighter, and folded his arms, just as a squeal was heard over the intercom system.

"Prepare for lightspeed!" And his eyes narrowed as he felt the lurch of lightspeed. He grinned, happy that hyperspace coordinates were so easy to track.

He could feel his own excitement, as his fingers dug into the joystick of his fighter.

Words couldn't describe how ready he was, or why.

* * *

Hey guys. So, by my count, this was like… Maybe twice as long as the first chapter.

Progress! However, I would like to know if it's long enough, because when you think about it, not much happened.

Things will certainly pick up, but still, it's short.

I'll try to do more for each chapter, but I'm curious what you guys think. :)


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 3

"Detaching in 10, 9, 8, 7-" The Grand Inquisitor growled, and yanked the throttle of his special TIE interceptor, breaking off the clamps affixed to his wings, before the sleek vessel screamed out of the hanger.

Warning lights flashed around him, informing The Inquisitor that he had broken many regulations and may have caused damage to his TIE.

He couldn't care less about that.

They could send him the bill.

His TIE fighter, massive ion engines howling, sped towards the planet they had tracked Jedi Master Depa Billaba to. He looked to his right, and nodded in satisfaction as he found another, nearly identical TIE fighter approaching him. Behind the Fighter floated a second Star Destroyer, one that The Inquisitor assumed belonged to the 7th Sister, the only other Inquisitor that he could rely on for more than a crippled Padawan.

He pressed a switch on his console.

"Grand Inquisitor to Seventh Sister. That better be you I'm seeing." The Pau'an impressed upon her. A small scratch in the audio proceeded to fill his eardrums until he heard a voice filter in from the other fighter.

"Oh come now, do you truly have no faith in me, Inquisitor?" Came the Mirialan's voice, about as soft as durasteel.

"I do not. That's why you're bait. The Jedi has a fighting style I've never seen. I need to study it while she's fighting you." He explained to her in a chiding, posh voice. He heard the Mirialan sigh as an uncomfortable silence filled the com channel.

They soared ever closer to the misty planet's surface.

"Inquisitor… If this really is Depa Billaba, then we're up against a Jedi Master… Perhaps we should call Lord Vader?" The Sister asked, and immediately, the Grand Inquisitor bristled. Reflexively, he squeezed his new robotic hand, and promptly bent the metal of his steering console.

The 7th Sister felt his annoyance and anger, from well over 20 meters away.

"Darth Vader doesn't need to get his hands dirty. That's our job." He told her, throwing down the throttle as far as it would go, breaking through the Planet's atmosphere.

A cursory glance at his datapad told him that they were on Cadannia, a planet covered in lush, intense forests.

There were a lot of planets like that.

The Inquisitor quickly realized that this was a great hiding place for the renegades… If they didn't have a massive ship that would be leaving an energy trail.

Without that ship though, the Inquisitor was almost completely positive that they would have lost Billaba and would have had to call a large army to find these rebels.

"Scan for the passenger vessel's energy signature." He ordered, flipping two switches, and then pressing onto a touch pad.

His misshapen, sharp teeth revealed themselves as he got a signal.

"This way." And he veered to their left, following the trail, as well as the force.

His quiet rage focused his abilities like a magnifying lens, and he put everything he had into finding her.

They found the ship first, and once the pair landed, The Grand Inquisitor looked around, feeling as though… Something was there. He couldn't feel Billaba, but he never thought he'd be able to; she was a master after all.

No, he was looking for the infant.

He took a deep breath to try and quell the sea of emotion and passion inside him, as he reached out for the child.

The Grand Inquisitor didn't remember any skill of force based stealth in all of Depa Billaba's records as a jedi. He didn't think that she would be able to hide both herself _and_ the infant. Sure, the Grand Inquisitor's skill wasn't quite up to snuff, but he was confident in his abilities to at least find a baby.

Then, suddenly, his patience was rewarded as his eyes snapped open. That twisted, broken grin reappeared, revealing the disfigured teeth of his race (further broken by his gracious master) as he marched to the West.

The 7th Sister followed, her somewhat conical helmet shielding her green face, her yellow eyes. She stood at least a foot and a half shorter than the Pau'an striding next to her. She had to maintain a light jog to keep up with his fast pace.

For not the first time, she felt more than a little intimidated by the nearly gaunt alien marching ahead of her. It never lasted though, simply because she knew him better than the other Inquisitors… A lot better actually. She even knew him to be his own approximation of nice.

This approximation revolved around not criticising every single thing everyone did, and not stabbing random people.

 _But he's not quite his normal self these days… Not since Vader got to him._ She thought, remembering just how bad he looked after his limp body had been dumped at her home. The memory frightened her as the sound of her doorbell ringing those weeks ago shocked her, making her jump.

This caused the Grand Inquisitor to start as well, crouching and yanking out his lightsaber from its sheath like a club. Two crimson blades ignited as his venom-colored eyes scanned the environment.

"What? Where is she?" He growled, voice hushed and tight. But then he noticed that The 7th Sister had not moved, not activated her own blade, and his eyes widened.

"I… I just remembered something… It-it scared me." The Mirialan Dark-sider tried to explain, the look on her boss's face enough to make her quiver.

"It… _Scared_ you." He repeated, gnashing his teeth. One blade of his lightsaber retreated into the handle with a hiss, and he pointed the remaining crimson edge at her.

"The next time something _scares_ you in enemy territory will be the last time you feel fear. Understand?" His voice was slow, and his speech was calm, but the alien was about to burst right then and there. The 7th Sister knew this… And yet her face seemed to calm behind her helmet, and she cocked a hip. And damn, did that hip infuriate the Pau'an.

"Oh? How about the fear you have? Fear of Vader, fear of Billaba? Maybe because she's the master of one Kanan Jarrus, the poor shmuck who made you look bad?" She knew this was almost certainly a bad idea, that the Grand Inquisitor could have killed her in an instant. However, she also knew that he was unbalanced, terrified of failing, and hurting. She just stoked the fire of the dark side within his belly.

Now she was feeling the heat pour from the Pau'an's body as he gripped his blade, eyes darkening to the same blood red as his lightsaber. He looked less like the reserved gentleman that he usually held himself as, and more like a nettled Nexu ready to strike. Then, she pushed just a little bit further.

"You want to prove me wrong? Go get her." She growled at him, and the Inquisitor growled again, before snapping off his lightsaber, and shoving it back into the sheath at his back. He stalked forwards as if nothing had happened, radiating power.

And that exact moment was when this happy moment between friends was ruined, because the presence that both Dark-siders sensed sped towards them like a missile, and then vanished.

Depa Billaba was not a Jedi to simply hide and wait. This was a time of war, and a time of darkness, and she was trained by the Master Mace Windu himself. She had adopted his hard and callous nature, his proactive approach to dark side users.

And as both Inquisitors stood back to back, ready for a fight, Depa Billaba knew just how to deal with them.

No quarter, no chances. They were as good as dead.

"Do you sense her?" was the 7th Sister's only question, spoken in a hush as if afraid to disturb the tense atmosphere. His only answer was a brief shake of his head as his eyes scanned the massive trees, flitting about, searching for any signs of movement.

Before her presence seemed to simply vanish with the wind, she had moved within 15 feet of him. Which means she was close enough to kill either of them, and he was abundantly aware of that. Nervously, the Inquisitor readjusted the grip on his saber. Then he did it again, and again. For the first time, he realized how much he hated his weapon.

Before he had time to ponder the subject, Their quarry struck with no warning. Without even a groan, a tree leaned towards them as if trying to listen in. And then the roots gave way, and the lean became a harsh entrance, vines snapping as the massive oaken trunk landed right where the Inquisitor and the 7th Sister were just a moment ago.

Feet skidded across the foliage as they had both narrowly avoided the attack moments prior, but neither were happy to have survived.

They both knew what tactic the Jedi Master was using to win this bout; divide and conquer, and now that the tree had separated the two dark-siders on opposite sides of the trunk, she had the perfect chance.

Suddenly, the Inquisitor ducked from a blue blade slicing right for his head, and then tried for his own slash across his assailant's midsection.

Depa Billaba had the speed of a serpent as she brought her blade from offense to defense in the blink of an eye, blocking the strike to her belly, and then booting the much taller alien away with a minimal effort. He hit a tree trunk well over twenty feet away with a groan as he felt bones creak.

It was pure reflex that saved his life as his very cells told him that he had to move now. His blade flew as fast as it could to defend himself, only to be batted away by yet another strike from the blue arc that was the Jedi Master. It was again clear how ridiculously outgunned he was as his lightsaber flew from his grip. His faded sight from the strike of her blow caught a hazy blue blade screaming towards him, and he didn't even have enough time to close his eyes and prepare for the end.

It was just thanks to the 7th Sister that he didn't have to.

The brief exchange between the Inquisitor and Depa Billaba took less than a few seconds to end, such was the speed of her attack. It was just now that the 7th sister could bound in and block the lightsaber strike to her master. The master in question took this time to clear his head, grab his lightsaber with the force, and attempt a concussed slice at Master Billaba while she was distracted.

He was not surprised to see the attack fail, and to see her back flip to the other edge of the small clearing.

He grabbed the 7th Sister's shoulder to steady himself.

"Did you see any of her attacks?" He panted, eyes locked on their opponent, who looked like she hadn't broken a sweat since the beginning of their engagement.

The 7th Sister mirrored his actions, staring a hole through the jedi as she shook her head.

"No. I have no idea what she's doing. She's moving too fast." She mumbled, mind positively racing for a way out.

The Grand Inquisitor stood tall then, the force clearing his mind like a wind casting away spider webs.

"Sister. Do you trust me?" He asked her, and she almost turned around to look at him, so profound was her surprise.

"Uhh.. Sure." She mumbled.

"Good. Then listen. Remember what we talked about on the way here?" He asked, and as he looked to her for a moment, he saw her looking back. A moment of understanding passed between the two. She remembered exactly what they had just talked about, and she knew exactly what fighting the Jedi alone would mean.

He knew what was going to happen, and so did she. She straightened up, palms sweating, hands shaking. Then with only two words, she marched towards the Jedi Master.

"Yes, sir."

The Inquisitor ran to the right, making sure his vision was un-obscured by the 7th Sister in any way, and then watched. He stared like a sniper at his target, ready to use his vast knowledge from countless hours of studying the jedi archives.

This time, his sister-in-arms life depended on it.

His big brain was their only shot at winning against an enemy so clearly far out of their league.

And then the melee started, and the gamble began.

 **Hey guys. So, it's been a long time since I've posted, and I've got some explaining to do. I was writing this chapter when Season 2 rolled around and I learned that the Grand Inquisitor used to be a jedi. Now, this clashes with what I made his character out to be, which is fine, but it put the brakes on the story for a bit while I figured a way to make this work. Well, after a month or two, I decided that, since this is already AU, I can keep this crazy train going until it crashes.**

 **So, enjoy. If you liked it, go ahead and leave a review! I'd love to hear it. :)**


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